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Writers & Readers Documentary Comic Book #83
García Márquez for Beginners
García Marquez for Beginners introduces readers to the life and work of the acclaimed author whose magical realism represents the spirit and voice of Latin America.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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June 8, 2013Having had fun with Introducing Kafka because I'm a fan of R. Crumb's drawing and the summaries of the books were nicely done in both words and text, I tried a book about an author whose early work I know fairly well in a similar series of illustrated introductory volumes. But Garcia Marquez for Beginners, written by Mariana Solanet and illustrated by Hector Luis Bergandi, isn't as much fun. The writing is uneven on several levels, including many ways of referring to the author -- Gabriel, Garcia Marquez, GGM, Gabo, Gabito -- used with no particular relation to content of the text. Another problem is the puffery, which a Nobel Prize-winning novelist really doesn't need, and Ms. Solanet is not Colombian so if it's local pride it's for all South America.
But more disruptive were the illustrations -- and after all this is essentially a comic book with bibliography and index -- which represented GGM in such different ways that one could hardly think it was the same person. Most often he looked a lot like Groucho, which I certainly have never felt about any photos I've seen, and the level of detail was uneven, sometimes presenting a simple flat sketch, sometimes a hyper-realistic rendition with every crease, wrinkle, ridge, furrow, and expression hugely magnified in horrible 3-D. There seemed no point to this, as there wasn't to the use of names ranging from formal to diminutive-affectionate.
Taking a step back and looking at this and the Kafka book together, they are precisely NOT good for beginners or as introductions; rather these author books are for those of us who know at least the major works fairly well and have an idea of their position in the world of letters and would just like to revisit the stories and wallow in a bit of biography (e.g., GGM's enduring friendship with Fidel Castro. Therefore I know that Kafka is not in fact primarily a Jewish writer, no matter how much the author of Introducing Kafka talks about that; reading him is not like reading, say, Aharon Appelfeld -- or Philip Roth, despite his Kafka tribute The Breast. And I know the innovation and power of what is now called magical realism of One Hundred Years of Solitude, which are talked into nothingness here. The innovation and intensity that make The Autumn of the Patriarch such a powerful work are barely suggested here. In short, they don't encourage reading the authors themselves: that has to be done in advance.
Nevertheless, these aren't the last of these supposedly introductory books I'm going to read; the pleasure, though, isn't where it's advertised to be, but in critically reading about known authors.
But more disruptive were the illustrations -- and after all this is essentially a comic book with bibliography and index -- which represented GGM in such different ways that one could hardly think it was the same person. Most often he looked a lot like Groucho, which I certainly have never felt about any photos I've seen, and the level of detail was uneven, sometimes presenting a simple flat sketch, sometimes a hyper-realistic rendition with every crease, wrinkle, ridge, furrow, and expression hugely magnified in horrible 3-D. There seemed no point to this, as there wasn't to the use of names ranging from formal to diminutive-affectionate.
Taking a step back and looking at this and the Kafka book together, they are precisely NOT good for beginners or as introductions; rather these author books are for those of us who know at least the major works fairly well and have an idea of their position in the world of letters and would just like to revisit the stories and wallow in a bit of biography (e.g., GGM's enduring friendship with Fidel Castro. Therefore I know that Kafka is not in fact primarily a Jewish writer, no matter how much the author of Introducing Kafka talks about that; reading him is not like reading, say, Aharon Appelfeld -- or Philip Roth, despite his Kafka tribute The Breast. And I know the innovation and power of what is now called magical realism of One Hundred Years of Solitude, which are talked into nothingness here. The innovation and intensity that make The Autumn of the Patriarch such a powerful work are barely suggested here. In short, they don't encourage reading the authors themselves: that has to be done in advance.
Nevertheless, these aren't the last of these supposedly introductory books I'm going to read; the pleasure, though, isn't where it's advertised to be, but in critically reading about known authors.
September 20, 2024
Excellent insight into the life and work of the great Latin American, Colombian writer, author of ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ and many more novels and short stories. Nobel Prize for Literature winner and great advocate for journalism and development of young writers. This is a quirky, interesting, enlightening documentary comic book with excellent illustrations. For anyone who loves the books of Gabo, this is a must read to understand more of the whys and wherefores of this writing genius.
February 5, 2023
I wouldn't call this a book for beginners. Without some knowledge of the author's books and South American and Caribbean history, it might be difficult to follow. The narrative was also choppy and hard to follow. The drawing was warm and engaging and the writer and illustrator both demonstrated a love for the subject.
August 13, 2009
I had to skip some part as Solanet was too detailed about few of Gabo's works which I haven't read yet. I know it's for Beginners but you don't have to be that detailed madam!
***
Seru banget berusaha mengenal Gabo mulai dari dia kecil sampe jadi penulis sukses, sayang beberapa bagian harus aku lewatkan soalnya terlalu detil menjelaskan tentang dua atau tiga karya Gabo yang aku belum baca
***
Seru banget berusaha mengenal Gabo mulai dari dia kecil sampe jadi penulis sukses, sayang beberapa bagian harus aku lewatkan soalnya terlalu detil menjelaskan tentang dua atau tiga karya Gabo yang aku belum baca
September 15, 2014
I love the series Beginners Books, and this is no exception. I do not love plot summaries, but this book succeeds in whetting my appetite for more by Garcia Marquez.
May 30, 2014
Read in Spanish, clears out certain points of some of his novels that I never understood.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews